As of 5^th January 2026*, new restrictions will come into force in the UK for advertisements on TV and online of less healthy food and drink products.

The rules include the:

• Online Ban: a total ban of paid-for online advertising of less healthy food or drink (this also applies to advertising appearing on non-Ofcom regulated on-demand programme services (ODPS)); and
• TV Watershed: a restriction on advertising less healthy food and drink on Ofcom-regulated TV and ODPS (including Ofcom-regulated IPTV services) between 5.30am and 9pm.

To be caught by the rules, an ad must include an ‘identifiable’ less healthy food or drink unless an exemption applies.

* Even though the restrictions take legal effect on 5^th January 2026, the UK government expects compliance from 1 October 2025 as originally planned. More on this below.

The restrictions have been introduced via the Health and Care Act 2022, which amended the Communications Act 2003, and have been given practical effect by the Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024 (Regulations).

The UK government has also published accompanying guidance to help businesses understand and comply with the restrictions. The guidance highlights that it must be read in line with the implementation guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the primary regulator enforcing these new restrictions (with Ofcom holding the statutory backstop powers).

The UK government has now passed The Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025 which exempts brand advertising from the restrictions.

The ASA has issued draft guidance for comment, the consultation for which ends on 9 October 2025. See our summary of the proposed changes to the guidance here.

Products are deemed “less healthy” and are caught by the new rules if they:

• fall into one of the less healthy food and drink product categories – see the Schedule of the Regulations for a detailed list; and
• score 4 or more for food and 1 or more for drink when applying the 2004 to 2005 Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) using the 2011 technical guidance.

The rules apply to businesses with 250 or more employees, including:

• Retailers and manufacturers (if selling direct to consumers)
• Restaurants, takeaways and others in the out of home sector (i.e., any outlet where food or drink is prepared so that it is ready for immediate consumption)
• Franchises and symbol groups
• Broadcasters and television/video platforms
• Online platforms
• Ad publishers and sellers of inventory

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are exempt but may still be affected by existing CAP and BCAP rules regarding adverts for HFSS products.

‘Advertisements’ includes ads under a sponsorship agreement – e.g., sponsorship bumpers for TV programmes would be caught.

To accommodate the statutory instrument which legally exempts brand advertising from the restrictions, the UK government has extended the date on which the restrictions come into force from 1 October 2025 to 5 January 2026. This means that neither the ASA nor Ofcom can issue fines, reprimands or other sanctions for ads which do not comply with the restrictions until 5 January 2026.

However, the industry has volunteered to comply with the restrictions as if they had come into force on 1 October 2025, so advertisers, broadcasters, online platforms and publishers should still comply with the restrictions.

Are there any exemptions?

Yes – not all ads are affected. The rules don’t apply to:

• Brand-only ads (e.g., an ad for an HFSS brand which does not feature a “less healthy” product)
• Audio only ads (e.g., podcasts that don’t include any ads with visual elements)
• Digital out-of-home media
• Products advertised by SMEs
• Ads aimed at businesses rather than consumers
• Ads that are not paid for – such as on brands’ own websites
• Product-specific exemptions are also set out in the Schedule within the Regulations
• Transactional content (e.g., descriptions of the product at the point of sale/purchase)

Even if the ad does not fall within the scope of the new regulations, the pre-existing HFSS rules in the CAP and BCAP Code may still apply.

Ads for an HFSS brand which does not feature a “less healthy” product are no longer in scope of the restrictions – the ASA’s guidance (currently in draft form) sets out further parameters for these. See more detail on what does or does not fall within the ‘brand advertising’ exemption here.

Both the CAP and BCAP Codes include existing restrictions on the placement and content of ads for HFSS products, which will continue to apply in parallel with the new rules on less healthy food and drink.

Under the existing rules, food and drink products are considered HFSS if they score 4 or more points for food or 1 or more points for drink according to the NPM.

For non-broadcast advertising, the CAP Code includes the following restrictions:

• ads for HFSS products are prohibited from featuring in any media specifically directed at children under 16 or in any ‘mixed media’ where those under-16 make up a significant proportion of the audience (more than 25%); and
• ads for HFSS products directly targeted at under-12s through their content must not feature a promotion, licensed character or celebrity popular with children.

For broadcast advertising, the BCAP Code includes the following restrictions for TV:

• ads for HFSS products are banned during children’s television programmes and programmes with a high proportion of child viewers;
• ads for HFSS products targeted directly at pre-school or primary school children through their content (as opposed to their scheduling) must not include promotional offers, licensed characters or celebrities popular with children; and
• ads for HFSS products must not include nutrition or health claims targeted directly at pre-school or primary school children.

Our team of advertising and regulatory experts can guide you through the existing HFSS and the new less healthy rules and help future-proof your campaigns. If you’d like to discuss how we can support you, please get in touch.